Sunday, July 29, 2007

“The South’s Goin’ To Do It Again!”

That was the hook to a 70’s song by the Charlie Daniels Band, and it was a big hit in Mississippi and Alabama at that time. I never really quite understood the popularity, other than regional pride. I certainly never quite knew what the “it” was that the song was referring to.

Having lived in the Deep South for about 10 years but not being a southerner myself, I have a few informed opinions about the whole mindset. For one thing, quite a number of people have never really gotten over the fact that the Confederacy lost the War Between the States. You get a hint of that by the fact that many people still refer to it as the War of Northern Aggression. Yes, that’s a bit telling. Even after all this time, it still rankles that the Confederacy lost. Now, I also am of the opinion that those same people really don’t follow through on their thinking. Just what would have the world been like today if the United States had really been half its size? How many of the major events since that time would have had a much different outcome? Slavery of a human race, World War I, World War II and the rise of Communism as a world force are only the tip of the iceberg. The world could have been a much, much different place, if the United States hadn’t been able to influence the outcome of these momentous “fulcrum points” of human history.

However, all many die-hard Southerners know is that their side lost, and they can’t seem to get over that. The battle waged over whether the Confederate flag belongs on the state flag of Georgia shows the depth of the emotion that still dwells in the hearts of many.

What I also believe is that, although it has taken about 150 years, the Confederacy, or rather, the remnants of it, has been driving the direction of this country for the last 30 years. The politics and the overall morality have been dragged to the right, mostly by those in power from the Southern states. The South is the home of Fundamentalist Christianity. The political base that used to be referred to as the “Southern Democrats” or “Dixiecrats” are now in firm control of the Republican party. These two forces have joined together in a very up-front bid to take control of the entire country. They have a very set agenda and truthfully, it doesn’t appear that there is much in the way of restraint on the part of the people attempting to drive the country in the desired direction. George Bush is just the culmination of a long effort by a number of very influential and powerful people to get what they want.

I see what is going on in the United States today is an aftershock of the outcome of the Civil War and all the carpetbagging that went on afterwards. The battle between the North and the South is still being waged, and the outcome is far from certain.